Category: Blogging

With all this talk of a Blogging Code of Coduct there doesn’t seem to be much discussion on who exactly such a Code is trying to make feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Bloggers? Current blog readers? New blog readers? The mainstream media?

If such a code is targeting fellow bloggers, trying to bring civil bloggers closer together or create a close circle of the “cream of the crop”, then it’s entirely unnecessary. That group exists in seperate forms through conversations on the blogs. Established bloggers already know who their friends are, already know who fellow civil bloggers are, and already read, converse with, blog about and generally interact with those bloggers.

The same applies for current blog readers. For the most part they’ve already culled out the good from the bad, the blogs they want to include in their “Daily Me” and the ones they wish to ignore, either because they don’t like the blog or its content.

If the code is targeting new readers, well, that gap is already filled through the blogs themselves. A new reader will stumble across, say, Kottke.org and get a feel for the blog and its content and find sites that Jason Kottke also likes by looking at his blogroll or the blogs he links to in his posts. Blogs inherently create a spiderweb of community through their linking and readers are quick to notice this, whether they’re new to the medium or not. That is the nature of blogging and blog reading.

So that leaves us the mainstream media. Is the code merely a way for blogs to say, “hey, we’re mature and can take care of ourselves, regulate ourselves, and therefor should be taken seriously”? Blogging is not about being mainstream or trying to appeal to the mainstream. Blogging’s about filling in the gaps of the mainstream, fleshing out the skeleton the mainstream creates or catching the pieces that fall through its cracks. If we start making ourselves more like the mainstream, more appealing to the mainstream, we become more mainstream and fail to achive our goals and develop our own voices.

Ultimately, a blogging code comes from a sense of community. Blogs create their own community with blogrolls and hyping the work from other blogs. It is through these communities that people will develop relationships that will shield them from attacks and threats that the code aims to prevent. These communities provide core groups to lean on in a time of need but also a chamber which will not allow the negative echo to gain a foothold.

My friends and I have differing opinions, but there is an unwritten agreement of civility among us, a self regulation of sorts that simply comes from finding common ground and being there for one another that transcends our differences. The same thing applies to blogging. When you start putting it in writing you take away its spirit, you make it cookie cutter and stiff and you open yourself and all “legitimate” bloggers to greater regulation from outside sources. Today it’s a draft code, tomorrow it’s federal law.

If we can truly take care of and regulate ourselves, do we need to put it in writing? Or can we simply have a sense of civility and associate ourselves with those elements that highlight it?

We bloggers can translate this community and self regulation into something casual readers can follow through the use of blogrolls and conversations within the community. By talking to one another in public forums like our blogs and not looking to the blogs that we individually feel do not reflect the tone we’d like to take, we create that code on our sites. We share with our readers our thoughts on what blogs are worthwhile to us by simply directing them there, not with a badge but with relevant posts and actual content. Though this we can serve all potential audiences of a code without opening ourselves to the limitations the code presents. And everyone ends up with the warm fuzzies in the end.

The New York Times chimes in on a call for a blogger code of conduct:

Mr. O’Reilly and Mr. Wales talk about creating several sets of guidelines for conduct and seals of approval represented by logos. For example, anonymous writing might be acceptable in one set; in another, it would be discouraged. Under a third set of guidelines, bloggers would pledge to get a second source for any gossip or breaking news they write about.

Bloggers could then pick a set of principles and post the corresponding badge on their page, to indicate to readers what kind of behavior and dialogue they will engage in and tolerate. The whole system would be voluntary, relying on the community to police itself.

“If it’s a carefully constructed set of principles, it could carry a lot of weight even if not everyone agrees,” Mr. Wales said.

The code of conduct already has some early supporters, including David Weinberger, a well-known blogger (hyperorg.com/blogger) and a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. “The aim of the code is not to homogenize the Web, but to make clearer the informal rules that are already in place anyway,” he said.

But as with every other electrically charged topic on the Web, finding common ground will be a serious challenge. Some online writers wonder how anyone could persuade even a fraction of the millions of bloggers to embrace one set of standards. Others say that the code smacks of restrictions on free speech.

Tim O’Riley has a draft of the code available here.

Jason Kottke has some thoughts, particularly on the comment regulations within the recent proposals.

John Welch is less than gentle in his picking apart of the code.

As I’ve said before, most of the bloggers who would sign onto such a set of guidelines already voluntarily follow them. By creating a code of conduct and subscribing to it, you are opening yourself up to greater regulation. Sure it’s voluntary now, but what’s to stop the government from stepping in and using such guidelines as the basis of laws or FEC regulation (as was almost faced this last election cycle)?

PS – Another thing Kottke points out is the long (personally) forgotten Blogger Code. Mine: B9 d- t- k+ s+ u f i o x e l c–

425p UPDATE: It may be an event that started in the techblogs, but poliblogs are paying attention as well. The way of the blogosphere, blogging started as techblogging, led to poliblogging, and now is used for any number of things. Its trends, both good and bad, tend to follow the same path.

Aside from that, Ann Althouse makes a good point:

Now that I think about it, the NYT really has an interest in siding with the blog-o-niceness movement. Bloggers are a threat to the Times in part because we can do so many things that a mainstream newspaper can’t. So wouldn’t it be great if we were stuck with their standards? Stop being vicious and wild! Write like the NYT, and maybe people will just read the NYT.

Memorandum also shows a lot of folks talking about the NYT article.

626p UPDATE: I’m not the only Virginia blogger noticing: Waldo has his thoughts here.

Paula Scher on blog conversations.

Join Jeremy at Social Memory Complex as he rounds up the sweetness that was Richmond blog posts over the last week.

Join Ross next week over at Haduken.com for a brand spankin’ new Carnival. You can either e-mail your submissions or use the RVA Blog Carnival form. Good times!

Yesterday I wrote about threats in the blogosphere and really had no idea how bloggers could approach the situation with a viable solution. Some have dug up the old call for a “code of conduct”:

Among those calling for a bloggers’ code of conduct is Tim O’Reilly – one of the web’s most influential thinkers. 

He told BBC Radio Five Live that it could be time to formalise blogging behaviour. 

“I do think we need some code of conduct around what is acceptable behaviour, I would hope that it doesn’t come through any kind of [legal/government] regulation it would come through self-regulation.”

Shelly Powers responds:

There is a code already: it’s called humanity. There could never be any form of legal regulation, because the internet is ubiquitous. What laws transcend borders, such as murder, terrorism, or child pornography, already have laws and regulations in place regardless of the form of interaction. 

We do not need a ‘code of conduct’ other than respect for each other and a sense of fair play. Oh, and people learn to think before reacting–to read what’s sometimes behind the words, rather than only the words, themselves.

A Blogger Code of Conduct has been brought up for the blogosphere as a whole and even locally. Virginia bloggers have debated codes of conduct in the past. The problem with developing a code of conduct is that those who will most likely sign onto such a code already voluntarily follow it. Such a code does nothing other than create a voluntary level of bureaucracy in what should be an independent and free form of discussion on the web, whether political, technical, local or about your cat. Anonymous and pseudonymous bloggers would still be free to voice their opinions and violate such a code.

Perhaps the greatest code of conduct is simply a sense of community among bloggers. Whether or not you agree with one another’s opinion, if you are able to relate to one another as fellow bloggers or simply fellow human beings, you are less likely to find yourself decending into petty fights and threats that turn to calls for such codes. Gatherings like Sorensen and the Bloggers United Conference and especially meet-ups like the one recently held here in Richmond can go a long way to helping one feel like they’re part of something other than the internet (the purpose of which seems to be solely to anonymously denouce something as utter crap). Putting faces to names and sites make this more human and, ideally (if you have a soul), make one less likely to find themselves unreasonably aggressive toward one another.

Blogger Kathy Sierra cancelled her appearance at an ETech workshop earlier this week after receiving not just hate mail but outright death threats on her blog. What makes this even more interesting is the players involved, like Cluetrain co-author Chris Locke (who responded here). The site that really caused a lot of the havoc, MeanKids.org, no longer exists (at the moment). Responses from tech-blogging big names like Shelley Powers and AKMA are certainly worth a read, especially AKMA when he speaks on the anonymous nature of the threats and the damage they can cause:

In this way, anonymity cuts more directions than one: It enables a mysterious assailant to terrify Kathy, but it also provides the grounds for Kathy suggesting that Frank, Chris, Jeneane, and Allan are complicit with a would-be murderer.

Dangerous indeed.

Unfortunately, this is a trend that’s rearing its ugly head more and more in the blogosphere (and, on some level, was brought up at the RVA meet-up earlier this month). While it may appear only to pop up in tech or political blogs, many blogging trends start in these areas and unfortunately see themselves spread to the rest of the blogging topics and community. How to best approach this and deal with it is really up in the air and something that will evolve as blogging itself does. But Shelley Powers provides a great reminder about the power of words:

When people write about you with loathing, for good or bad, you’ve touched their life. They don’t have power [over you] — you have power over them.

Just a friendly reminder from Slantblog:

there will be an informal meeting at the Baja Bean to discuss putting together what would amount to a local blog convention, or “summit,” if you prefer that term. The gathering is open to all, but the point of it is for local bloggers to meet one another and air out their ideas on that topic.

…

As we all know, there are many motivations to blog. Some bloggers focus on politics and current events, others on their family pets. Some blogs are about art, or a hobby, others are about a neighborhood. Still others cover a variety of topics. What they all have in common is the desire on the part of the blogger to document some aspect of what they care about.

Accordingly, I see no reason for any Richmond blogger to feel unwelcome at this meeting. Please know, this call for a bloggers meeting hasn’t been made by corporate interests, or any existing group. No sticky name tags will be handed out, so if you want to wear one, make your own.

Talk “summit”, talk shop, talk about your dog, doesn’t matter, just c’mon out and enjoy the company. I’ll be there. But don’t let that stop you.

Since today’s blogosphere conversations seem to be focusing on responsible blogging I figured I’d share the following checklist. The same things one should keep in mind when citing an Internet source for a paper also apply to blogs. Readers should keep the following in mind:

• Is the information reliable? 
• Check the author’s credentials and affiliation. Is the author an expert in the field? 
• Does the resource have a reputable organization or expert behind it? 
• Are the sources of information stated? Can you verify the information? 
• Can the author be contacted for clarification? 
• Check for organizational or author biases.

Not all bloggers are pretending to be journalists. But when they do, readers need to take a step back and really consider what they’re reading.

(Thanks, University of Southern Maine.)

Shaun and Waldo have been conversing today about the state of the Virginia Political Blogosphere and the decline of its content.  As Waldo wrote:

These days most Virginia political blogs make virtually no effort to persuade anybody to change their minds. A blogger will state his opinion, make no attempt to explain it, and insult those who disagree with them. Telling me I’m stupid does nothing to endear me to your cause. It is not persuasive, so it can have no impact on the political process. It reveals nothing about the blogger — at least, nothing flattering. No attempt is made to educate, so no new facts are gathered by the reader. If anything useful results from this process, I cannot understand what it is.

The result of this is that people take to reading only those blogs that espouse opinions that they already hold, because reading others is such an unpleasant experience. Such bloggers set the tone for the discussions, too, such that rational discourse is impossible. And thus begins the ghettoization of ideological positions and with it the end of the enormous value that once made Virginia political blogs so noteworthy.

Shaun agrees and mentions in his comments “The Daily Me” as coined by Cass Sunstein in her book Republic.com. The concept of “The Daily Me” is that while the internet provides outlets for ideas all over the spectrum, some readers are going to limit their selections to sites that simply echo their own thoughts and beliefs. People who fall into this rarely feel the need to detail why they feel certain ways and don’t look to other sites to do so either.

The last six months have seen some of the blogosphere’s big thinkers close up shop, namely Jaded JD and Chad over at VAConservative, while sites that spout the same talking points and market in rumor mongering are flourishing. The growth of the latter is going to be natural in an election year (which means every year here in Virginia). But I think that time will help weed some of these out. Not all will fold up, but personal observations over my five years of blogging has shown that many blogs don’t last more than six months, their writers either boring of the job or finding themselves without a market. Strong blogs with real content will out last the fly by night “splash and trash” operations.

Welcome to the first installment of the Richmond VA Blog Carnival, wrapping up a bunch of happenings in RVA for the week of August 7-13.

Allow me to start by providing a bit of mood music. Check out Richmond’s very own David Schultz. I’ve become quite the fan as of late.

Now for the carnival!

Don gives some insight into Richmond’s very own (and literal) money pit and the inability of city politicians to take a stand on the issue.

F.T. Rea speaks of evil (and it’s not the metric system) and how the fear it creates is used politically.

The Richmond Business and Commercial News blog notes out that RVA is #6 on Forbes’ list of Top 10 Cities to Find a Job. Kudos to Richmond.

Brick isn’t too keen on Richmond Magazine’s listing of Joe’s Inn as Best Neighborhood Takeout Joint and Best Place for Weekday Breakfast. Personally, I’m with Susan, at least with her take on Best Thai.

If you haven’t been keeping up with Duane’s “A Painting A Day” you’re really missing out. Last week saw what I thought was a really great piece: Chinese Candy No.2. I may not know art, but I know what I like.

Snoopy has delicious tomatos and is willing to share, but woe be onto you who dare try and steal a bunch.

Did you catch Dave Chappelle this weekend? Chris did and mentions a few others who maybe should have passed.

J.C. Whitmore was not only well prepared for Sunday’s Carytown Watermelon Festival but also provided some great advice to help you folks at home on your way. Then he took a slew | of | pictures. Jorje was there too..

And a whole lot more happened too, but I’ll let you all find that for yourselves. Best place to start? RVABlogs!

Thanks for checking out this installment of the RVA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to host a future edition, e-mail me at jasonkenney@gmail.com and keep an eye on the BlogCarnival.com page for upcoming carnivals.